Olympian CA Bhavani Devi will return to the Asian Games stage after being named in India’s 20-member fencing squad for Aichi-Nagoya 2026, the Fencing Association of India (FAI) announced on Monday.
The Indian contingent features several fencers who enjoyed medal-winning campaigns at the Commonwealth Fencing Championships, including Taniksha Khatri, Prachi Lohan, Karan Singh Gurjar and Tejas Patil.
Bhavani Devi, India’s first Olympic fencer, will compete in the women’s sabre after returning to competitive action following a two-month layoff. The Asian Senior Fencing Championships was her only international competition earlier this year.
The Indian fencer competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and has since remained the country’s most prominent name in the sport.
India will also head into the Asian Games with several fencers coming off medal-winning performances at the Commonwealth Fencing Championships.
Taniksha Khatri and Prachi Lohan will form part of the women’s épée contingent after winning gold and bronze.
In the men’s sabre, Karan Singh Gurjar earned his Asian Games 2026 selection following his gold-medal-winning campaign at the Commonwealth Championships.
Tejas Patil, meanwhile, will compete in the men’s foil after winning bronze at the same competition. His result marked the first senior foil medal by an Indian fencer at the Commonwealth Fencing Championships.
The 20-member squad was selected based on national rankings and performances at major international competitions in 2026, including the Asian Senior Fencing Championships, World Fencing Championships and Commonwealth Fencing Championships.
The selected fencers will assemble at the Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala for a preparatory camp from September 1 to 15.
The Indian fencing team is scheduled to depart for Aichi-Nagoya on September 16 for its final acclimatisation ahead of the Asian Games 2026.
Indian fencing team at Asian Games 2026
- Sachin (Men’s foil individual, men’s foil team)
- Aditya Badser (Men’s foil team)
- Tejas Manoj Patil (Men’s foil team)
- Hemash Singh Sanasam (Men’s foil individual, men’s foil team)
- Lakshay Badser (Men’s sabre team)
- Gisho Nidhi Kumaresan Padma (Men’s sabre individual, men’s sabre team)
- Karan Singh (Men’s sabre individual, men’s sabre team)
- Vishal Thapar (Men’s sabre team)
- Mina Devi Naorem (Women’s foil individual, women’s foil team)
- Joys Ashitha Stalinraj (Women’s foil individual, women’s foil team)
- Kanupriya Chawla (Women’s foil team)
- Sonia Devi Waikhom (Women’s foil team)
- Mitva Jesangbhai Chaudhari (Women’s épée team)
- Yashkeerat Kaur Hayer (Women’s épée team)
- Taniksha Khatri (Women’s épée individual, women’s épée team)
- Prachi Lohan (Women’s épée individual, women’s épée team)
- CA Bhavani Devi (Women’s sabre individual, women’s sabre team)
- Shreya Gupta (Women’s sabre individual, women’s sabre team)
- Jefarlin Jani Rexlin Simla (Women’s sabre team)
- Shruti Joshi (Women’s sabre team)
read more: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/india-fencing-squad-asian-games-2026-bhavani-devi
